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SWOSU (0-0) at West Texas A&M (0-0) Sunday, February 1, 2:00 pm (DH) Canyon, Texas (Wilder Park) Live Stats: Game 1, Game 2  |  Watch Live SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- The date of the 2015 SWOSU Baseball season opener has been pushed back one day and the Bulldogs will now face West Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon in Canyon
- The Bulldogs will open the season away from home for the second straight season after playing three games against Texas-Permian Basin to open the 2014 campaign
- SWOSU has won their season opener in three straight seasons, including a 6-0 win at Texas-Permian Basin to open last season
- The Buffs return the trip to Weatherford on Tuesday, February 10, with the teams playing a single game at the SWOSU Athletic Complex that day
- West Texas A&M swept the Bulldogs in a home-and-home series last season, defeating SWOSU 10-6 in Weatherford and 5-4 in Canyon
 
The Opponents
West Texas A&M (0-0)
- Picked to finish second in the Lone Star Conference, earning four first-place votes and coming in just three points behind LSC favorite Texas A&M-Kingsville
- Receiving votes in national polls from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Baseballnews.com
- Coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history after finishing 37-21 (21-14 LSC) in 2014
- Graduated two All-Americans but return 14 seniors and 30 upperclassmen to the roster in 2015
- OF Nick Chapman has been named a Preseason All-American by NCBWA after hitting .383 with 18 home runs and 41 RBI as a junior
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Zack Saunders (83-58, 4th season)
- In his fourth season leading the Bulldogs and his teams have earned a berth in the Great American Conference Tournament in each of the previous three seasons
- Has tutored 14 players who have earned All-GAC status, including four first-team selections, one All-Central Region honoree, one regional gold glove award winner and one MLB draftee
- Named GAC Coach of the Year in 2013 after leading the Bulldogs to a 31-16 record and a second place finish in the conference at 21-9
- Previously served as an assistant at SWOSU for six seasons under former Bulldog coaches Charles Teasley and Scott Selby
- Played collegiately at Kansas State following two seasons at Connors State playing on nationally-ranked junior college teams
 
West Texas A&M: Matt Vanderburg (169-33 (7th season)
- Introduced as just the fourth head coach in Buff Baseball history in May of 2008
- Coached five All-Americans at WT and five of his six teams have finished in the Top 20 of NCAA II in team batting average
- Coming off his best season with the Buffs after guiding WT to a school-record 37-21 record and berth in the program's first NCAA Division II South Central Regional
- Has led WT to three 30-win seasons and just missed that mark by one game in 2012
- Previously coached at Clarendon College from 2006-08 after a four-year playing career at Northwestern Oklahoma State
 
Last Time Out
- The 2014 season of SWOSU Baseball concluded with a 16-3 defeat against No. 3-ranked Arkansas Tech at the GAC Tournament in Enid
- The Wonder Boys scored five runs apiece in the third and fifth innings and added runs in all but three innings to advance to the tournament and eliminate the Bulldogs
- Ethan Davis took the loss, ending his season at 9-4, after allowing nine hits and seven earned runs in just 2.2 innings of work
- Brandon Ruiz hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning and finished with two hits and two RBI while Chris Faulkner had the other RBI for the Bulldogs
 
GAC Preseason Poll
- SWOSU Baseball earned 67 points and has been picked to finish fourth in the Great American Conference in 2015
- Southern Arkansas is the preseason conference favorite, having earned seven first-place votes and 97 points overall
- Arkansas Tech earned the other four first-place votes and 93 total points to take second with a sizable lead on third-place Arkansas-Monticello
 
SWOSU Notes
- The leading returner for the Bulldogs is senior shortstop Dalton Daniels, who earned honorable mention All-GAC honors last season and the Central Region Gold Glove
- Daniels was the only player to appear in and start all 48 games last season, leading the team with a .354 batting average, 63 hits and a .954 fielding percentage
- Three seniors return to lead the pitching staff, including Ethan Davis, Chris Joiner and Travis Leverett
- Davis had a team-best 8-4 record last season with a 5.03 ERA and eight complete games to his credit in 78.2 innings of work
- Joiner finished his junior season 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA while Leverett was 4-1 in 14 relief appearances and had a 4.21 ERA, second-best on the team
- Other returners to the lineup include senior catcher Jiro Morales and junior outfielder Tyler Rapp
- Morales made 24 starts in 28 appearances last season, hitting .274 with 23 hits, one home run and 18 RBI to go along with a .369 slugging percentage
- Rapp has made 58 starts for SWOSU the past two seasons and hit .248 with 25 hits, eight doubles and 11 RBI as a sophomore
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU is scheduled to travel to Grand Prairie, Texas, next weekend for four games at the QuikTrip Division II Classic
- The Bulldogs will play one game per day from Thursday-Sunday, facing Pittsburg State, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Nebraska-Kearney and Ouachita Baptist